Catecholamines are compounds having a catechol and an amine and exist in vivo as a part of neurotransmitters. The most abundant catecholamines in vivo are adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine, and these are derived from tyrosine. Tyrosine is converted into L-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), which is further converted into dopamine. Noradrenaline is converted from dopamine, and adrenaline is converted from noradrenaline.
Catecholamine deficiency has been confirmed in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and prevention and treatment by promotion of catecholamine production have been put into practice and studied. For instance, as anti-Parkinson's disease agents, adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine precursors such as phenylalanine, tyrosine and L-DOPA are administered. In addition, for the prevention of metabolism induced by oxidative removal of amino groups by monoamine oxidase, monoamine oxidase inhibitors have been used as anti-Parkinson's disease agents. For Alzheimer's disease, drug therapy has been mainly employed in recent years; however, no fundamental therapeutic agent is yet to be found at the present. Nevertheless, the importance of noradrenaline and dopamine has been examined and reports have been made on the reduction in the tissue concentration of noradrenaline observed in Alzheimer's disease model mice (Non-patent Documents 1 to 4) therefore, a preventive or therapeutic method for Alzheimer's disease by promotion of catecholamine production is expected to be developed.
Meanwhile, mainly in the Oriental countries, earthworm extracts and dry earthworm powders have been used since ancient times as preventive agents and therapeutic agents for various diseases, and examples of their use that have been known include bladder stone-reducing agents, bladder stone excretion-promoting agents, therapeutic agents for jaundice, oxytocics, tonic agents, hair growth agents, aphrodisiacs, antipyretics, therapeutic agents fir convulsion, blood circulation promoters, therapeutic agents for hemiplegia, indirect analgesics, diuretics, antiasthmatics and antihypertensive agents.
However, no report has even been made on a catecholamine production accelerator that contains an earthworm as an active ingredient or the utilization of an earthworm in the prevention and therapy of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.